“Riesling Rules” rules!
January 12th, 2009
"Riesling Rules"
The folks at Pacific Rim have created a fantastic resource for Riesling lovers and novices alike. In 37 pages “Riesling Rules” compiles a good mix of the grape’s background, history, global context and a dash of interesting and useful minutia.
Well-written, well-organized and informative, this booklet compiles the kind of information for which you would have to spend a few hours searching the web – if you didn’t own The Wine Bible or The Oxford Companion to Wine. The price is nice, too. Pacific Rim is sending out free copies of the second edition to those who request it.
The booklet’s introduction talks about an on-going process of updating the content form edition to edition. Since there is at least a third edition being planned, I was curious how much the previously published ones differ. Comparing the second edition booklet I received in the mail to the on-line first edition, I see that there are small tweaks in verbiage as well as some reshuffling of content. The latter strives to tone up the organization and improve flow. The major content change has to do with discussion of the grape’s genetic origins.
As confirmed by Shawn Bavaresco, who responded to my request for additional information, the second edition includes some new interesting, and nicely geeky, information about vineyard yields as well as mention of the International Riesling Foundation (no website available, read more here).
That second section introduces the IRF’s “riesling taste profile” which includes a sweetness scale. Documentation explaining the standards and criteria for the sweetness scale is only provided online but I would have preferred it in print - at least in summary.
“Riesling Rules” successfully summarizes the grape’s history and provenance as well as regional variances and discusses the grape in many parts of the world (maps are included - bravo!). This also includes a list of Riesling acreage by country. A selection of Mosel and Alsatian vineyards and the producers who source grapes there is also provided. All these things take up a large portion of the publication - which speaks to the impartial intentions of the publishers.
I really like the treatment the booklet gives of the Prädikat system and German Riesling harvest categories. It explains German terminology like Halbtrocken or Feinherb, with good definitions, but a phonetic pronunciation guide would be helpful.
Providing Riesling cocktail recipes, a list of the best cities to enjoy Riesling and a list of famous historical figures who have been know to be Riesling lovers may seem frivolous. It is not necessarily the kind of stuff I look for, personally, but it gives the booklet appeal to those who appreciate more lighthearted, entertaining tidbits.
“Riesling Rules” keeps a focus on food and wine pairing with a reference chart to give readers and drinkers some starting ideas. This topic tends to be a sticky wicket, but you have to start somewhere. You may decide later that you prefer sweet Rieslings with cold cuts, dim sum and soft shell crab, but with so many people asking the question: “What food would this wine go with?”, a short section of this sort can be a very handy guide.
There is also a section addressing some of the most wine un-friendly foods. I see this as another guide with useful tips on taming asparagus, artichokes and eggs. Some may rely on this section verbatim, others will read the explanations and extrapolate some food pairing rules they can then apply to other wines and foods. That is how I approach wine and food pairing and for that reason, I like having this kind of information.
This booklet will also appeal to the wine geek. It addresses the variety’s growing cycle, vine anatomy (which is pretty universal but nice to have), clones and the source of the petrol character in Riesling. If you want to know where the particular style of bottle used for Riesling comes from or what type of glass best shows off your Auslese or Alsatian Riesling, you’ll want to get a copy of this book.
I don’t generally write book reviews. I’m just not comfortable with that role because I don’t think I have the right background for it - especially when it comes to fiction or more creative publications. There are, however, rare exceptions to every rule. This book is such an exception, and because it is a very useful reference I wanted to write about it.
One of the first questions I had when I heard about this book was: “Would a group of Riesling producers in the Pacific Rim produce an impartial piece of literature?”. If there is an agenda behind the booklet, its to promote a deeper understanding of Riesling within the context of its history, how it varies stylistically with terroir and region. It is, in fact, an unbiased and impartial publication intended to dispel myths about Riesling and broaden readers’ horizons.
“Riesling Rules“ is quite comprehensive, though not exhaustive of the topic. It’s a handy vademecum through the world of Riesling. This is not necessarily a beginners’ introductory text but it’s written with wine lovers of all levels of sophistication in mind. You can peruse the first edition on line here. Look for the third edition to be available in the middle of 2009 – yours just for the asking.
On a final note, I think this booklet also has a place in tasting rooms of wineries producing Riesling wines.
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